Philosophy and the Environment

My interlocutor at work pointed out that while there have been no great philosophers in the last half century, environmental philosophy is the new thing.

When he pointed out that Genesis says "and man shall have dominion" and cited David Suzuki saying that this was the worst thing that could have happened for the environment, I criticized his remark on several points.

First, Dr. Suzuki's speciality is genetics, bible interpretation is not. I'd rather hear from someone whose expertise is in bible interpretation and the history thereof. When I tried quoting the late, great Pope on the Genesis passage he irritably said he didn't care what the Pope thought. Fair enough, says I, but at least cite someone who has expertise we can both agree on.

Secondly, he's citing a translation into English that may or may not faithfully reflect the original Hebrew. What does the original really say? And, in turn, what does it mean? We were reduced to agreeing that the word "dominion" occurs in the King James Bible (ca. A.D. 1612). Now I have to actually look it up and see if that's true; ok, Genesis 1:26: dominion (KJV).

Thirdly, the idea of untrammelled human control over nature really arises in the Renaissance, not ancient Biblical Christianity (or Judaism). "Man is the measure of all things" while attributed to Protagoras, would be a suitable theme for many of the new Humanists of the Renaissance. The real problems with the environment begin with these ideas carried to an extreme in the Industrial Revolution centuries later. People didn't cause the havoc we have witnessed over the last two centuries by reading the King James Bible.

Another point we didn't really get into (I was supposed to be working at the time ) was the meaning of the text. What does it mean to say that the word "dominion" is used in that passage? What did ancient Christians actually think that meant? What did the English think and was this in line with traditional Christian thought?

But he just wanted the blame Christians and Christianity for the environmental troubles we've been experiencing. Facts and coherent arguments are not easy to build at the best of times, much less when dealing with someone who doesn't share your world view. No doubt we will have more interesting discussions in the future.

See what I can accomplish while I'm waiting for the shower?